The present invention is directed to a multiple cable adapter in a splice case employing thermally responsive sealant.
In communication systems and the like, cables are often employed which include a large number of conductors encased in a protective outer sheet. These cables must be periodically spliced to connect succeeding portions of cables and to provide access to the cable for branch cables, terminals and the like. At a splice in such cables, the protective sheets must be disturbed. This provides an opportunity for moisture and other environmental elements to reach and destroy the unprotected conductors and splice. Consequently, splice cases have been developed which operate to seal the unprotected splice and cable ends.
Such splice cases often employ mastics, sealants and complex mechanical structures as a means for preventing damaging environmental intrusion. However, the nature of the splice cases themselves and the level of skill required in assembling these splice cases have resulted in marginally acceptable performance levels for such systems. However, increasing performance demands, lack of installer skill, product anomalies and other errors have been found to create serious performance problems with such splice case systems. To overcome these deficiencies, such communications systems have employed grease packing or pressurized gas to prevent environmental intrusion through small leaks. Repair must be made as these leaks expand.
In Diaz, "Pressurized Splice Case", Ser. No. 638,687, filed Dec. 8, 1975, now abandoned in favor of continuation-in-part application Ser. No. 786,835, filed Apr. 12, 1977, a splice case is provided which employs thermally responsive sealant on the seams of a longitudinally split shell with an integral heating element or elements for causing the sealant to unify the portions of the shell. Because of the integral heating unit, substantially unskilled workers are able to assemble the case about a splice and obtain excellent results. However, conventional techniques are still relied on for the placement of multiple cables in any one end opening in the case. Therefore, operator skill is relied on to a certain extent when multiple cables are to be employed with a single end opening of the case.